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Show Friday, February 6, 2009 6 (^ THE SIGNPOST SPORTS A lesson in ice fishing; Pineview an ideal spot Golf team kicks off season Monday Outdoor Life Men head south for SUU T-Bird Invitational By Bryce Scanlon correspondent | The Signpost By Chris Foukas correspondent I The Signpost With the upcoming Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational on Feb. 9, the Weber State University Men's Golf Team is looking for a strong showing in the spring season. WSU's fall season wrapped up during the first week of November and some key members of the team are looking forward to the spring season for better results. "We've been looking forward to this tournament for a few weeks," said sophomore Keaton Woodland. "There are some things coach (Dave Kearl) wanted us to work on during the break and now we need to go out and see where we are." The Ron Moore Invitational in September was WSU's best finish, where the Wildcats snagged fourthplace out of 17 teams. Woodland said he feels the Wildcats missed some golden opportunities to finish even stronger last fall. "I know for me personally, I missed a few shots here and there that I normally make in regular circumstances," Woodland said. "One thing I concentrated on over the break was being able to mentally focus when you have grounded out a few bad holes, basically to right the ship." Teammate Tyler Herzog, who is the lone senior on WSU's roster, said he fully agrees with Woodland's assessment. He, like Woodland, said he felt like there were some missed opportunities that should have been converted. "It always seems like there's little things that come back to bite you at the end of the round," Herzog said. "That's one thing that coach (Dave Kearl) wants us to work on this spring, is to be able to grind out bad rounds and turn them into strong finishes." The Thunderbird Invitational is the tournament WSU uses to kick off the spring season every year, and it's a chance for them to shake off some rust from a two-month layoff. "It's close to home but we're still getting the opportunity to go play in a tournament environment," said sophomore Jeff Jones. "This is the first tournament to correct some mistakes and to shake off the cobwebs. We need to have a strong showing down here to pace ourselves for the last part of the season." Besides practicing, they will See Golf page 7 PHOIO BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD | IHL SlCNl'OSI Top: Weber State University guard Tonya Schnibbe fights for a loose ball against University of Northern Colorado guard Jamie Schroeder during the second half in the Wildcats 66-55 win last night. Bottom: WSU forward Emily Thatcher takes a breather during Thursday night's action. Lady 'Cats soar- WSU scores final 17 points of game in home win over UNC Right out of the gates, WSU had a hard time containing UNC forward Kate Kevorken who When the Weber State virtually had free reign in the paint University Women's Basketball for much of the first half. Kevorken scored 13 of her game-high 20 Team found themselves down 5549 to the University of Northern points in the first half, along with eight of her 13 total rebounds. Colorado, with only "I thought we were 5:25 left to play, a threea ' little apprehensive syllable word solved ail in the first half," Taylor their problems. said. "It was obvious "Aggressive," said that Northern Colorado WSU Head Coach Carla was a little more Taylor. "When you're aggressive than us in aggressive, great things the first half." happen." WSU 66 Even as the second Great things did N. Colorado 55 half got underway, happen, as the Wildcats Caitlin Anderson grabs 17 the Wildcats had a went on to score the rebounds in home victory hard time finding game's final 17 points buckets, for they were en route to a 66-55 in foul trouble early and often. victory in the Dee Events Center. Fortunately for WSU, they rallied "It's a good feeling," Taylor back to tie the game 55-55 before said. "This group of gals are finally Wildcat guard Sarah Conner understanding what our energy drained a 3-pointer with 3:20 left level needs to be and when we are in regulation, handing WSU the committed to just playing hard and being aggressive, the wins See Soar page 7 usually follow." By Matt Gerrish sports editor I The Signpost Hockey to play at E-Center this weekend WSU club hockey team promotion gets fans into WSU game along with Utah Grizzlies game By Jon McBride correspondent I The Signpost IHL SIGNPOST fetter State University forward Tucker Dougherty makes a play on the puck during a game earlier this season. Dougherty and the Wildcats take on the University of Arizona in the E-Center tomorrow. a dual promotion from the Wildcats and Grizzlies. Wildcat fans can purchase tickets for Fresh off of a close loss to the $15 that get them lower-bowl No. 1 team in the region and a seating for the WSU-Arizona 14-3 blowout over an in-state matchup as well as the Grizzlies rival, the Weber State University game at 7 p.m. against the Hockey Team is looking to keep Phoenix Roadrunners. Lowermoving forward as the 'Cats play bowl seats usually cost up to $32 on a bigger stage this weekend. at Grizzly games. The Grizzlies The University of Arizona are currently the hottest team comes to town for a two-game in the ECHL, riding a 10-game series against WSU. Tonight's unbeaten streak and currently sit game will be at the usual time in seventh place in the National and location - 8:30 at the Weber Conference standings. County Ice Sheet. However, The Wildcats are on a hot Saturday's game will be a 3 p.m. streak of their own, winning start at the E-Center in West 13 of their last 15 games. Their Valley City. 14-3 thrashing of Brigham • The E-Center, which seats Young University last weekend 12,000 fans, is home to the Utah was important for the 'Cats, Grizzlies who play in the East showing they could bounce Coast Hockey League. The venue back after a deflating 3-2 loss to was also home to 2002 men's and No. 1 Colorado State University women's Olympic hockey. two nights earlier. The Wildcats Wildcat fans who make the remain at No. 2 in the region. trip south on Saturday have Arizona will be a tough test extra incentive considering for WSU. Arizona competes at Division I of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. WSU competes at Division II. The teams have already faced each other twice this season in Tucson, Arizona. WSU lost the first game 7-0 after the long bus trip for Ogden that same day. The Wildcats bounced back to earn a split on the weekend with a 3-1 win the next night. After this weekend, the Wildcats have just four games remaining in the regular season. Only one of those games is a scheduled home game, Feb. 13 against the University of Utah. However, Utah forfeited its last scheduled game against WSU due to a lack of available players, so there's no guarantee they'll show on the 13th either. This weekend could be Wildcat fans' last chance to see hockey at home this season. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com. Living in the state of Utah, there are many luxuries when it comes to outdoor activities. Being blessed with four seasons gives us prime opportunity to take advantage of those activities. In the middle of winter, the avid outdoorsman can take part in sports such as skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and ice fishing. We are lucky to have these winter sports and even luckier to have them so close to us. Most skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and ice fishing can be done within a half-hour drive. This short distance makes things more affordable for the college student. Most locations even offer some type of college student discount. We need to take advantage of what we have and make our college experience as fun and spontaneous as possible. Ice fishing is a huge pasttime for many Utahns. With many lakes, this offers anglers many different species of fish to chase. The closest lake to ice fish from Weber State University is Pineview Reservoir located just a few miles from Weber State University's Ogden campus. However, many people get scared when they hear the words "ice fishing." I remember the first ice fishing trip I went on, when my mom was so scared that something bad would happen, but in the end, we had great day fishing on 13 inches of solid ice. Ice fishing is fun and relaxing and it gives you the opportunity to enjoy nature and to put some good meat on the table. It also offers good quality time to spend with your friends and family. Another positive about ice fishing is that it is relatively inexpensive. Pineview Reservoir offers good fishing for a variety of fish, making things more interesting for anglers. Pineview holds tiger musky, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, blue gills, sunfish, carp, bull head and trout. During the winter, Pineview has a great pan-fish fishery. Crappie and perch are the most sought out species. Ice fishing equipment is a little different from regular fishing tackle. The ice fishing poles are anywhere from 18 to 40 inches long. The tackle used is also lighter and smaller, to help imitate the bait that is in the lake. Jigging is the best way to catch fish, which involves moving the bait sporadically to make it look alive. To get through the ice, anglers use both hand and powered augers. The holes cut into the ice range from four to 10 inches, which is the largest size hole you are allowed to have. Once the ice is a solid four inches thick, it is as strong as cement. However, temperature, wind and precipitation may alter its strength. Tiny ice flies, which are used to catch the pan fish, are often tipped with some sort of bait, like wax worms, meal worms, maggots, nightcrawlers, perch meat or even a perch eye. Crappie and perch are delicious white meat fish to snag. Since crappie and perch are smaller fish, you need to catch more for a bigger meal. The crappie limit in Utah is 20 and the perch limit is 50. The most common way to prepare the crappie and perch is to batter and deep fry the meat. Personal preferences to seasonings help make this meat even more flavorful. Ice fishing is a fun and enjoyable winter past-time, so See Fishing page 7 |